Basic rights by keyword human rights

All citizens who have reached the age of 18 no later than on the day of the election may vote in national and local government elections. Citizens of other EU countries residing in Finland may, if they wish, vote in European Parliament elections, and foreign nationals residing permanently in a municipality may also vote in municipal elections.

Under the Constitution, everyone in Finland enjoys freedom of opinion, speech and assembly. Freedom of religion guarantees the right to practise any religion and the right not to belong to any religious group. Everyone has the right to choose where they want to live and the right to move about freely.

Finnish and Swedish are the country’s national languages. The rights of minority language groups, such as the Sámi and Romani, are also mentioned in the Constitution.

Social rights linkInformation on social rights by ordinary legislation, fundamental social rights affirmed by the national Constitution and social human rights defined by international human rights treaties. Appeal proceedings and international supervisory bodies.Social Insurance Institution of Finland Kela